Weight 120 kg (260 lb) (2014) Role Athlete Siblings Bill Walsh Name Tomas Walsh Events Shot put | Sport Track and field Parents Peter Walsh Country New Zealand Height 1.85 m | |
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Born 1 March 1992 (age 32) ( 1992-03-01 ) Timaru, New Zealand Personal best(s) 21.62 m (outdoor)
21.26 m (indoor) | ||
WCH 2017 London - Tomas Walsh NZL Shot Put Gold
Tomas "Tom" Walsh (born 1 March 1992) is a New Zealand athlete who competes mainly in the shot put. He is the current national record holder both outdoors and indoors for the event, and the current (2017) world champion. His personal best of 22.21 m (72 ft 10 1⁄4 in), set at a Diamond League meet in Zagreb, 5 September 2016, is also the Oceanian record.
Contents
- WCH 2017 London Tomas Walsh NZL Shot Put Gold
- Athletics career
- Personal life
- Personal bests
- Shot put seasons best
- Competition record
- References
Walsh was the bronze medalist at the 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships, the silver medalist at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, 4th at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics, winner of the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships, the bronze medalist at the 2016 Olympic Games, and the gold medallist at the 2017 World Athletics Championships.
Athletics career
Walsh made his international debut at the 2009 World Youth Championships in Athletics, where he placed sixth in his shot put speciality and also competed in the qualifying of the discus throw. On 12 December 2009 Walsh recorded a put of 20.21 m (66 ft 3 1⁄2 in) the 5 kg shot to win the Senior Boys title at the New Zealand National Secondary School Track and Field Championships. This performance was a New Zealand Youth (Under 18) record which was broken the following day by Jacko Gill when winning the Junior Boys (Under 16) title.
Walsh broke the New Zealand junior record on 18 March 2010 with a put of 18.82 m (61 ft 8 3⁄4 in) with the 6 kg shot but this was broken 9 days late by Gill with 19.92 m (65 ft 4 1⁄4 in). At the 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics Walsh failed to qualify for the final of the shot put which was won by Gill.
In 2012 Walsh won his first senior national shot put title which he retained the following season and also added the discus title. On 12 December 2013 Walsh broke Gill's New Zealand senior shot put record with 20.61 m (67 ft 7 1⁄4 in) in Melbourne, Australia which he improved with 21.16 m (69 ft 5 in) on 22 March 2014, also in Melbourne.
At the 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships, in his first senior international competition and first ever competition indoors, Walsh finished third in the men's shot put. He set an indoor national record of 20.41 m (66 ft 11 1⁄2 in) in the qualifying round and improved upon this mark three times in the final finishing with 21.26 m (69 ft 9 in) which was an Oceanian indoor record and the same distance as the Oceanian outdoor record.
Later in 2014, Walsh improved his outdoor personal best and the New Zealand record with 21.23 m (69 ft 7 3⁄4 in) at the 2014 IAAF Diamond League meet in Glasgow on 11 July, before improving again to 21.24 m (69 ft 8 in) on 27 July, during the qualifying round at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, which was a Commonwealth Games record. In the final, Walsh won the silver medal behind O'Dayne Richards.
In 2015, Walsh defended his New Zealand shot put title with a throw of 20.73 m (68 ft 0 in) on 8 March, before setting a new Oceanian record of 21.37 m (70 ft 1 1⁄4 in) on 21 March at the Melbourne Track Classic.
Walsh finished fourth at the 2015 World Championships on 23 August in Beijing, throwing a new personal best of 21.58m. He was just 11 cm off the bronze medal. He improved his personal best to 21.62m on 8 September in winning the shot put at the Hanžeković Memorial in Zagreb. On 11 September Walsh won his first Diamond League meet with a throw of 21.39m in Brussels.
In the 2016 World Indoor Championships, Walsh won the gold medal with a throw of 21.78m, breaking his own New Zealand national and Oceania area indoor records three times in the process.
Personal life
Walsh works part-time as a builder in Timaru.
Tom's father, Peter, won the New Zealand Junior Men's Shot Put in the 1964-65 season and was a member of the 1974 South Canterbury Rugby side that won the Ranfurly Shield. Tom's niece is married to former All Black, Isaac Ross.
Personal bests
Shot put seasons best
Senior implement weight (7.26 kg) only.